‘Death by Lightning’ Is the Perfect Historical TV Show for Our Deranged Historical Moment

The point is, Makowsky, previously the screenwriter of the public school true-crime dramedy Bad Education and the underrated dystopian romance I Think We’re Alone Now, left a lot on the table for Death By Lightning. In the end his take feels judicious, true to the story’s spirit without drowning us in minutia. In resisting a three-episode arc about beef and whiskey enemas, he gives a humane, inspiring two-hander about graft and reform that crackles with comedic energy.

Makowsky spoke to us by Zoom to offer some insights into the process.

GQ: So tell me about how that cast came together. Who was first and how did it all play out?

Mike Makowsky: Matthew [MacFadyen] and Michael [Shannon], respectively, were first. We really lucked out on the casting front. I think a lot of the credit goes to our director, Matt Ross, who has been a working actor for many years, and recently has emerged as this formidable director, but very much has “actor brain.” I’d like to think that I do too. I am one of those IMDB nerds who, if you name any movie, I can tell you 20 people who have been in it, and Matt is exactly the same. So we were just bandying about names of fun character actors, where you’d just be like, “You know who’d be fucking great to play Dr. Bliss? Željko Ivanek.” And he’s like, “Oh, I did Big Love with Željko Ivanek! Let’s call him up.”

And then Željko’s like, “Sure.” Every role was like that. Matt had worked with Shea Whigham and Betty Gilpin previously. Nick Offerman—from the moment that I started writing Chester Arthur, I knew that it had to be Nick Offerman. If we didn’t get Offerman, it almost wouldn’t be worth doing. From the moment I first read about Chester Arthur, I just had his face in my head. And yeah… Bradley Whitford playing James Blaine…. You hope when you write a character like James Blaine that you can get a “Bradley Whitford type.” You never expect Bradley Whitford will actually want to do it.

Was there anyone else attached that it didn’t work out with?

Stephen McKinley Henderson originally was going to play Blanche Bruce, but had to drop out for personal obligations. So yeah, I guess technically he was the one actor that it didn’t work out with.

So Chester A. Arthur, that was an interesting take. I mean, you sort of depicted him as this thug with a heart of gold.

It all starts with Candice Millard’s book, Destiny of the Republic, which I think maybe you’ve also read. I found it at the buy two-get-one-free table at my local Barnes & Noble in 2018. I needed a third book. I knew absolutely nothing about James Garfield and just found myself unspeakably moved by this book. One of the components that struck me was Chester Arthur, about whom I knew even less than Garfield. And hearing about his journey as chief crony for the spoils system in the New York political machine headed by Roscoe Conkling, who was only ever nominated vice president as a means of neutralizing Conkling in some way, but was very much a political enemy of Garfield’s once they both entered the White House. But over the course of the story, both in the historical record and in the series itself, [Arthur] has this kind of beautiful, unexpected redemption arc. I didn’t necessarily see it coming. He rediscovers his soul in what I believe was just by engaging with a man of true integrity, a political optimist bent on reform. Chester Arthur didn’t start as a crony for the spoils system in his younger years. He was a lawyer who helped the poor and the disenfranchised, and I think he finds his better angels again over the course of the story. To be able to have Nick Offerman go through that journey was some of the most fun stuff I got to write.

How did you end up with the title Death by Lightning rather than Destiny of the Republic?

As soob as I read that line in Candice’s book, I knew that that would need to be the title of any hypothetical television show. The line “assassination could be no more guarded against than death by lightning, and it’s best not to worry too much about either one.” It’s a real line Garfield said when prompted about whether or not he might like to pay out of pocket for some private security. At the time presidents did not have a Secret Service or any real protection.